The former owners of gaming website Tombola donated more than £12m to charity – its largest ever contribution - in the year before it was acquired by new owners.
The Sunderland-based business, Europe’s largest online bingo firm, creates and develops bingo software and games from its North East head office and also has bases in Copenhagen, Gibraltar, Milan and Madrid.
The company was first launched in 2006 by Philip Cronin and has seen huge growth over the last 16 years, gradually expanding its presence in the UK and Europe.
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Last November the family firm was snapped up by Flutter, owners of Paddy Power and Betfair, in a £402m cash deal that the betting giant completed last month.
Now Tombola – which is known for its sponsorship of the ITV programme I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here – has published accounts for the year ended April 30 2021, the last full financial year that the Cronin family owned the online empire, showing donations of £12.6m were “made to a number of local charities and other institutions” during the year.
The company has made donations to local charities ever since it was founded, but rarely divulges the recipients, aside from a £500,000 donation it made to The Foundation of Light in 2017.
In its first ever set of accounts for a large company, published on Companies House to cover the 2007 financial year, it noted an £800 charitable donation, and subsequent years have seen it give out between £16,020 in 2009 and £281,119 in 2020.
The accounts are published seven years after founder Mr Cronin set a target of £100m turnover, and accounts for the company covering the year ended April 30 2021 show turnover rose 36% from £120.1m to £164.2m.
Operating profit also rocketed, from £12.03m to £25.5m. The original profit figure stood at £37.7m, but included the huge £12.2m charity donation as an exceptional item.
During the year shareholder funds also increased from £48.5m to £71.25m.
The company also significantly increased its workforce, from an average of 608 to 760 employees.
No dividend was paid to the shareholders for a second year running.
The report accompanying the accounts said: “Group turnover has increased to £164.2m from £120.1m in the previous year as the group continues to thrive and grow its market share across the UK and Europe. The group's net profit before tax increased to £25.5m from £12.0m as we continued to invest in our people, our products and opening up new territories.
“The group is focused on the continual research and development of its products and invests much time and resource to ensure the highest quality of its product.”
The online bingo company moved into Tombola House, its new £8m base at Rose Wharf, in 2018 and the bonded warehouse transformation won the RIBA North East Client of the Year award for Ryder Architecture last year.
